Episode 444 - Addicted to Love

Episode details · 215 speaker turns · sound cues from audio analysis

00:00:00[intro theme playing]

00:00:29Sarah Jefferson: Welcome to episode 444 of the parkrun Adventurers podcast, a podcast about life, if your life is all about parkrun. My name is Sarah Jefferson, coming to you from Noongar Boodja, Noongar Country.

00:00:43Simon Mackley: I'm Simon Mackley, joining you as always from Quandamooka Yarrabindjara or Quandamooka Sea Country. Hey Sarah.

00:00:51Sarah Jefferson: Hi Simon, nice to chat to you again.

00:00:54Simon Mackley: You too.

00:00:56Sarah Jefferson: I cannot believe that palm is just around the corner. Can you believe that?

00:01:01Simon Mackley: That's great.

00:01:02Sarah Jefferson: I can't wait. I'm getting very excited too. In fact, Simon, by the time this pod is released, we will actually be down to single digits in the countdown till we all head to the Clare Valley.

00:01:15Simon Mackley: We started talking about it quite a while ago. Time has really flown by. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones and putting names to faces or faces to names.

00:01:26Sarah Jefferson: Definitely. I know we have some new listeners and people who will be attending their first Palm. So that is very exciting for sure. And who isn't excited to jump on a plane and tick off a new event? Hey.

00:01:39Simon Mackley: Exactly. Yes.

00:01:40Sarah Jefferson: So I thought I'd start the pod by taking just a little bit of time to share with the listeners a little bit about the Clare Valley to get everyone excited. So should we jump into that, Simon?

00:01:52Simon Mackley: Definitely. Go for it.

00:01:54Sarah Jefferson: So the Clare Valley is on the lands of the Ngadjuri and Kaurna peoples. The region is one of Australia's oldest wine regions, which is located 130 kilometres north of Adelaide. The region is world renowned for its Riesling, Shiraz and Cab Sav. In 1845, copper was discovered about half an hour away from Clare in a town, Burra, which was the world's largest known copper deposit. The region is also famous for a 35 kilometer Riesling trail, cycling track, following a 19th century railway corridor, which runs for 33 kilometers between the towns of Clare and Auburn. It's mostly a flat ride, which passes more than a dozen cellar doors. Clare Valley has over 35 cellar doors, historic stone buildings, and is known for its thriving food scene. So I guess if you're a wine lover, it sounds like you're in for a real treat. Have you already picked out a few wineries that you wish to check out, Simon?

00:02:50Simon Mackley: I have definitely chosen wine. So one of my favorite wineries is, sorry, favorite wines is from a place called Kilikanoon. So I'll definitely be hitting that up. And that came recommended by one of our other listeners as well. So I'm glad that I was on the right track. What about you?

00:03:05Sarah Jefferson: I actually haven't had a drink for well over two years now. So I mean, if people want to go to a winery, I'm happy to go there and sniff it. I like the smell of wine that would probably make me a bit tipsy these days no I'm actually maybe I would say I'm a non-drinker now maybe you could be the designated driver well that's generally the role I play yes if we ever head to wineries or places where people drink like pubs or whatever so that's okay I'll wake up feeling much better for it the next day so I'm always happy to do that and I actually do I do get car sick I don't know if I've mentioned that on the vlog before People who went over to the trip, I know I was heavily pregnant when we went to Flinders Island. It wasn't TOC's driving. I was so sick. We went and checked out this historic place and, yeah, it didn't cope very well. And then landing back, we, you know, took this charter flight, as I know it's been mentioned on the pod.

00:04:00Simon Mackley: Yep, yep.

00:04:01Sarah Jefferson: Thank goodness for Heather who was on the flight. Heather.

00:04:05Simon Mackley: Oh, yeah.

00:04:06Sarah Jefferson: Yeah, was very kind to me. I was not very well landing back in Melbourne.

00:04:10Simon Mackley: Oh, no.

00:04:11Sarah Jefferson: Yeah, so it's probably best that I stay sober and drive, right?

00:04:15Simon Mackley: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly.

00:04:18Sarah Jefferson: I'm intrigued, Simon. Will you be keen to taste maybe all of it, but the Riesling, Shiraz or Capsab, given that's what the area is known for?

00:04:26Simon Mackley: I'm definitely a red drinker. I'm not a big fan of whites. So even though Riesling is apparently what it's best known for, I will definitely be going reds and not whites.

00:04:37Sarah Jefferson: Well, maybe I'll be able to have a sniff of one of your wines.

00:04:41Simon Mackley: Wonderful.

00:04:41Sarah Jefferson: Sounds good.

00:04:43Cassie Hughes: And enjoy the experience.

Where have you been since we last spoke?

00:04:45Sarah Jefferson: All right, Simon, where have you been since we last spoke?

00:04:49Simon Mackley: Well, it's been a bit of a mix the last few weeks for me. Since the last time we spoke, I was barcode scanner at Sirame. Not much more to say about that. Most people know where Sirame is because of Mel's 500. Then the next week I met up with Peter Pohlman at Gainsborough Parklands and coincidentally met up with a few other of a few familiar faces. So Brendan Peel was there, Roberta Winters was there, and Anne Croydon. Then last weekend, I was at Stone's Corner with about 500 people, which brings me to a question about something that I saw, and I want your opinion on this. So first time a brief happened at 6.45, a little bit earlier than I would have expected, but there was a lot of people there. The run brief started at 6.50. so 10 minutes before or due to run, because there's a bit of a walk between, or a few hundred metres walk between the finish line, which is where the brief is held, and the start line. So they leave enough time for you to get over there and get ready. Once the brief was done, about 400 of us turned to head towards the start line, only to see that there were about 100 people who didn't attend the brief, and they're already standing over at the start line, and therefore weren't aware of the extra hazard on the course for the day. I mean, we all dealt with it. the same way but personally I find it a little bit rude for so many people to purposely miss the run brief I don't know if it was to get a better position to start because like the start line's quite spread out like long but yeah how do you feel about it how do you feel as an RD?

00:06:16Sarah Jefferson: Well it does sound like as you said they have strategically skipped the briefing and lots of them possibly have been there before but that's right hazards and things do come up I would find it annoying as well but i wonder you know i was just thinking about how they could you know because you can't really do anything right if people don't attend the briefing and they're actually there oh yeah yeah that's a bit tricky but i was just thinking i wonder if they put a marshal there and encourage people to kind of head up to the briefing in the future. You did say that it was a little bit early, but it does sound like they've done that again so that it gives people time to get back, self-seed, get their watches ready, etc.

00:06:56Simon Mackley: I literally walked past that group because where I parked, I walked past them to go to the run brief. So it wasn't like they were late getting there and just went straight to the start line. They were there from quarter to seven.

00:07:09Sarah Jefferson: It's a little bit naughty, isn't it?

00:07:11Simon Mackley: I think it is. To me, having been an ED and an RD, I've kind of find it a bit disrespectful because you know people are giving up their time I shouldn't say giving up the time people are there to you know make the run safe and all that sort of thing and I just yeah I mean there's mud in one of the tunnels that you like in the first kilometer and that was the hazard

00:07:25[background music]

00:07:31Sarah Jefferson: we all dealt with it but it was like to piece people know there was mud in there like i feel like for people who do volunteer a lot at parkrun we get it you know you would make sure you know you're heading down to the brief i know for me if friends are talking to me i just feel like oh i need to listen to this so i won't be one of those people who are talking while the brief's happening i'll make sure i thank volunteers on course You know, so I feel like if people are giving back regularly, they do get it. It's probably people who, again, maybe could be generalizing. Maybe you're not giving back, you know, too much or are not in that role themselves. So they don't actually realize what it's like, you know, to be on the ground, you know, in the run directing position or to manage hazards and things like that.

00:08:08Simon Mackley: Yeah, like there was a couple of pram runners and they went to the brief and then had to try and squeeze in. So it wasn't like, you know, sometimes a family or people with dogs or that sort of thing, they have to stand away because dog goes nuts or that sort of thing. I get that. But yeah, it just, it seemed to me to be a little bit, and I'm not picking on Stone's Corner here by any stretch. It was just that it happens there. And I'm talking about, like, I've seen it happen elsewhere as well.

00:08:33Sarah Jefferson: Have you been there before and seen it happen there? Like, is it a reoccurring thing? Do you think?

00:08:37Simon Mackley: I've been there once before. I don't remember that happening. I can't remember whether that was the same course the last time I did it because I know that they were closed for a long time. But I've been there only since it reopened. So I'm guessing it's the same course. I don't remember it happening before. But then again, it was 500 people and I don't remember there being 500 people last time. Anyway, let's move on. Where have you been since we last spoke, Sarah?

00:09:01Sarah Jefferson: So I have done one parkrun at home. So slowly edging closer to this singleton goal for the year. I headed up one of the weeks to Quinns Rocks to catch up with Helen and Steven Davis, which was really lovely. They were over visiting from Victoria. We had breakfast afterwards with an ocean view. which is lovely. I enjoyed walking the course with both of them and catching up on life as I actually hadn't seen them since we were in Malaysia in July 2023. The next week I headed to Shelly parkrun for a solo parkrun without even the pram, Simon. I was totally on my own. I put AirPods in my ears, was listening to a podcast, which was really lovely. However, the weekend just gone, I did go on an adventure to tick off my Nendi. That being Meriden Peak parkrun. So Meriden Peak parkrun is on the lands of the Njaki Njaki Noongar people. Meriden is a town with a population of approximately 3,000 people and it is in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. It is approximately 300 kilometres from Perth. So we had already booked our accommodation before we realized that the weather in Meriden was going to be scorching 40 degrees on the day we ventured up there. So just to reiterate, this was a three hour drive basically away from the coast or any possible coastal breeze. On the way up, we drove past where Rabbit Proof Fence No. 2 was originally built. In Merredin, we enjoyed a personalised tour of the historic Cummins Theatre and it was just like stepping back in time. It was kept in immaculate condition. We enjoyed a dinner at the local pub and checked out the local pool to cool off. At parkrun the next morning, I jogged with the pram and got talking to a local Rob who actually ran the majority of this trail course barefooted. He carried his Crocs and put them on periodically on the course to avoid thistles. so talking to this man i realized i was certainly never made for country life but we did have a lovely chat to him and we had a lovely chat to the rd afterwards who shared that parkrun had been incredibly bonding for this small town so their first year anniversary will be in two saturdays time he shared that lots of people do play sport in small towns but it actually can be quite segregating whereas on saturday morning lots of the people who play different sports actually come together for parkrun. And for him now, this is actually his preferred social and sporting activity in the town. So that was really lovely to hear. Matt managed to finish token number two. Again, it's a bit of a theme though. We've been to multiple parkruns, small events, with the exception of Flinders Island. Matt managed to get position number one. Matt has accumulated quite a few token number twos. And he was pipped by the regional cross country champion. Anyway, Simon, this takes me back to having achieved my statesman status. Once again, so another goal for 2026. And my Nendi is now over 1,900 kilometres away.

00:11:56Simon Mackley: Well, congratulations on regaining Statesman. That was huge. And having a massive adventure in the process. So new NENDY is what, Clare Valley?

00:12:04Sarah Jefferson: It's just a little bit closer to home than the Clear Valley. It's Yadagniwea. It is in South Australia.

00:12:10Simon Mackley: Okay.

00:12:11Sarah Jefferson: Yeah, because we ticked off Port Lincoln, that used to be my kind of second Nendi, but I ticked that off over New Year. But in the scheme of it, Clay Valley is not really too far, is it, from my Nendi.

00:12:20Simon Mackley: That's nowhere near where you live. No. 1900km is ridiculous.

00:12:24Sarah Jefferson: But, you know, it's actually probably quicker when you think about it to fly to another state than actually drive to some of these towns, right? Bigger for us to fly to Adelaide and do a parkrun than it was to really drive to Meriden.

00:12:35Simon Mackley: Yeah, of course.

00:12:37Sarah Jefferson: But it's nice to visit these small little towns. I really quite enjoy small town parkruns.

00:12:41Simon Mackley: How many finishes were there?

00:12:42Sarah Jefferson: Oh gosh, I feel like 40. Okay. Could be a few more, but there are a few walkers. That's what I quite enjoy as well about, you know, these parkruns as well. You know, often you get quite a few walkers. Walkers on just quickly. 41, I was pretty close. And all finished. The last, the tail walker came in at 59.26. So pretty fast. On a trail, trail undulating course.

00:13:05Simon Mackley: What was his name? Barefoot Rob.

parkrun news bulletin

00:13:08Sarah Jefferson: All right, Simon, shall we jump into some news in the parkrun world?

00:13:12Simon Mackley: We should.

00:13:13Sarah Jefferson: So in Australia, we have a new parkrun partnership and this one involves food. So food is listening. On the 10th of February, parkrun Australia announced a one-year partnership with food chain, Zambrero. I was intrigued to read that this food chain was founded in Canberra in 2005 by Dr. Sam Prince, an Australian medical doctor. And it is the largest Mexican style restaurant chain in the country with 280 stores. The chain was built on the idea that food should make people feel good personally and socially. And for every burrito or bowl sold, a meal is donated to someone in need. So more than 100 million meals have been donated over the past 20 years. As part of the partnership, parkrun participants will be eligible for buy one, get one free offer on Saturdays by showing evidence of their parkrun volunteer participation. or result in store using their email or the 5K app. I didn't know that the reason behind this food chain before. So I'm actually quite impressed, Simon, with the outlook of this store and how it, I guess, aligns with parkrun as well. And I don't know that I've actually visited one of their stores. I've certainly seen them around, but I'm not sure if I've visited one. Have you?

00:14:23Simon Mackley: Yeah, actually, I definitely have been to one in Sydney. And I did have a look when this was announced as to where my closest one is, and it's about 25 minutes drive away. We seem to, we seem to have a much more prevalent supply of another Mexican food chain around us. So yeah, I can't say I've been to a Zombrero's up here, but what about you? Where's your closest?

00:14:44Sarah Jefferson: So when I actually check my nearest store, I really actually have no excuse. I should be, I should go and visit there on a Saturday. It's actually 700 meters away.

00:14:53Simon Mackley: Wow.

00:14:54Sarah Jefferson: I could walk there. Well, We don't get takeaway a lot because we travel when we're home and I love to cook. I love to cook. So anyway, I know exactly where it is. But yeah, maybe I should try that out given it's so close. So maybe Saturday dinner next week or lunch. I am actually quite partial to Mexican food. Fair enough.

00:15:15Simon Mackley: Me too. Yeah, I love Mexican food. Moving on to some more news. So last week, 12 millionth registration was completed and they actually ran on Valentine's Day. Sorry, it was the week before that actually the 12 millionth registration happened. They ran on Valentine's Day at Sunnyvale Baylands, which is northwest of San Jose in California. So just updating, the 11 millionth registrant has gone on to participate at 25 parkruns, all of them in Western Australia. The 10 millionth one has done one in South Africa. And the 9 millionth looks to have been removed as this was when there was that influx of people trying to register that number. So there was a lot that were done around that. So 9 million doesn't exist.

00:15:57Sarah Jefferson: What can I say, Simon? Western Australia does it again. It's in the stats.

00:16:01Simon Mackley: Like some would say the greatest state. West is best.

00:16:04Sarah Jefferson: That's right. Well, West is best. Yeah. That's right. Now, speaking a little bit more about Valentine's Day, over at South Beach Recreation Reserve parkrun, the energetic Cassie Hughes treated everyone to a rendition of Addicted Love by the English singer Robert Palmer. So we actually have some audio from the morning for you to listen. Enjoy.

00:16:20[background music]

00:16:43Cassie Hughes: And you'll be done. You keep lift. You run the beat. The finish line is within reach. Under 11s, you must stay close. We can't do dogs. Council says no. It's closer to the truth than saying you can't get enough. No, you're gonna have to face it, you're addicted to it. Give it back. Not yours to keep. We can run again. Every week you all keep left. Give it away. Another milestone is all you crave. Whether you crawl, walk or run, you don't mind. Just have some fun. You like to think. Listen to the truth and say you can't get enough. You know you're gonna have to face it. You're addicted to a run. Might as well face it. You're addicted to a run. Might as well face it. You're addicted to a run. Might as well face it. You're addicted to a run. Might as well face it. You're Thank you.

00:18:38Sarah Jefferson: So Simon, we do have a huge congratulations to an adventurer. That adventurer being Leanne Evans. So Leanne competed in the Tarawera Ultra-Trail 100 Miler. This course is the true test of body and mind. This race is 163 kilometers and begins and ends in Rotorua in New Zealand. It encompasses eight stunning lakes, the solitude of the Tarawera forest, a boat ride across Lake Rotomahana, the waterfall on the Tarawera Falls track, and running through archaeological sites of a buried village. So there's also, you know, running through the towering redwoods and past the steam alongside the trail at the sulfur point. So what a course it sounds like, right? So this race began at 4am on Saturday with a cutoff of 4.07pm on the Sunday. So this year, the course was incredibly wet and muddy and had a 40% dropout rate. So Leanne finished this race in 33 hours and 11 minutes. So huge kudos to you, Leanne, and your support crew who also worked tirelessly throughout. Absolutely phenomenal effort. Leanne also backed up with a parkrun the following Saturday with her time just over 28 minutes.

00:19:55Simon Mackley: Wow.

00:19:55Sarah Jefferson: At Hammer Forest parkrun.

00:19:57Simon Mackley: Incredible, right? Amazing. Amazing, yeah. I mean what she beat the cut off by what two two hours 40 that's awesome that is yeah absolutely amazing and it's obviously not a flat course completely different terrain yeah and wet and muddy as you say but yeah like 40% dropout rate that is just that is amazing yeah huge well done exactly while we're talking New Zealand we may as well jump over to the New Zealand starts So on the 14th of February, there were 67 parkruns with 12,195 parkrunners and 1,118 volunteers, plus any pending results. The biggest New Zealand parkrun on that day was Hagley, no surprise, with almost the same as Whangarei and Waitangi combined. So Hagley had 841, Whangarei had... 403, and Waitangi had 461. The smallest was Southend Reserve, with 22. Then last weekend, on the 21st, there were 67 parkruns again, with 13,188 parkrunners and 1,135 volunteers, plus any pending results. Whilst it wasn't a record-breaking week... there were actually five events that each had over 500 athletes attend. So well done NZ. Biggest New Zealand parkruns last weekend was Hagley again with 818, Waitangi with 563, and Cornwall Park with 532. The smallest was Mangawiru River Walk with 18, Hamilton Park with 33, and both East Otago High School and Lost Lagoon had 35.

00:21:39Sarah Jefferson: It's getting huge, isn't it? 800s.

00:21:42Simon Mackley: Yeah, ridiculous.

00:21:43Sarah Jefferson: Yeah, crazy. I wonder if they're thinking of opening one close by. Moving back to Australia, on the 14th of February, 77,872 people participated in a parkrun, supported by 6,787 volunteers at 516 events with 1,392 first-timers. One event set a new attendance record near Yilpa. The smallest three parkruns were Gayndah River Walk in Queensland and Pyramid Hill Golf Trail in Victoria, both with six, and Coober Pedy Oval in South Australia with seven. The largest three were Southbank Queensland with 756, The Ponds in New South Wales with 771 and Albert, Melbourne in Victoria with 882. On the 21st of February, 91,430 people participated in a parkrun at 521 5K events including 6,781 volunteers. The smallest three parkruns were Jake's Point with two, Coober Pedy Oval with five, and Baxter and Waterloo Plains each had six. The largest three were Albert Melbourne with 959, Southbank with 903, and the ponds with 794. On the 22nd of February, there were five junior events with 565 little engines guided by 108 volunteers. There were 67 new registrations and 59 first time ever finishes. Fantastic.

00:23:10[background music]

Roving Adventurers (roving reporter crossovers)

00:23:15Simon Mackley: I think it's time we throw to our roving reports.

00:23:27Paul Kitching: Good morning parkrun Adventurers and Happy New Year. It's PK here checking in. It's been a while. It's been a while since I've been on the road. I seem to say that a lot, don't I, whenever I check in here. But we are at Meningi parkrun. Meningi is, gosh, an hour 40 from Adelaide. So I got up at the crack of dawn, well before the crack of dawn, and headed up here to beautiful Meningi on the river, on the river? On the ocean. I really should know my geography. Should we cut that out? Nah, leave it in. Anyway, here we are. It's beautiful. As you can hear, lots of bird life. Hoping for a pretty good finish like the last time, particularly. Last week they had 24 people. So looking like there's probably in their 20s, I reckon, here today. Anyway, let's go and do Meningi parkrun. Well, that was magnificent. I'm very happy to come in at number seven. Not that numbers are important, but I don't know. How many people did you have today, do you reckon? Sorry, this is Kimberley. Hi, Kimberley.

00:24:31Kimberley: Yeah, hi. Hi, PK. I think we've got about 23 maybe today. Yeah, 23, which is great numbers for Meningie.

00:24:36[crosstalk]

00:24:38Paul Kitching: Yeah, fantastic. Good on you. Kimberley, you're one of the event directors here, or the event director. Absolutely. Shared, yes. Why did you set up parkrun?

00:24:42[crosstalk]

00:24:47Kimberley: Well, I didn't actually set it up, but the previous event directors to me did. And I think they were event or parkrun people. Right. And they had come to Meningi and were based here and decided there's a good park and a great lake. Yes.

00:25:03Paul Kitching: a gorgeous place for a course and so yeah we uh been uh we've just had three about 327 yeah that's amazing i love it i'm i um don't usually like out and back and out and back kind of thing but i but i really enjoyed this because there are five turnarounds something like that um and it's not too bad. And then you're like, oh yeah, that's about okay. Oh yeah, that's about okay. It's good. And I hear that you get quite a few people coming here to try and get their number one, number two position.

00:25:12[crosstalk]

00:25:34Kimberley: Yes, we do, we do. And people are always a bit miffed if our local fast ones are here. They try and time it around perhaps when they're not. But yeah, look, we're often pretty good at getting the top 10 here because we don't always have very high numbers.

00:25:48[crosstalk]

00:25:50Paul Kitching: I was very happy to get top 10 today. Yeah. Actually, the guy who came first, I was just chatting with him, he's here from country Victoria, and it was his first time here, and he came first, so that's not a bad stat for him. And so why do you do parkrun?

00:26:04Kimberley: Actually probably, well I started with a friend who said come along and it helped me to get a bit fitter and then there was an opening for someone who had left and they needed a new event director so I put my hand up and these days I actually tend to be more in the organisation area. But love it when I get to participate, like today. Yeah, it was nice. And the thing is, it's partly social for me. I live out on a farm. I come in on Saturday mornings. I get to be out in the community. And I love encouraging it. And I love hearing other people's stories.

00:26:42[crosstalk]

00:26:42Paul Kitching: So it's really social. It is, isn't it? Well, that's awesome. Well, I'd better go and have breakfast.

00:26:46Kimberley: Yeah, nice cup of coffee across the road there. Awesome.

00:26:49Paul Kitching: Good on you. Thanks, Kimberley.

00:26:50Kimberley: Thanks, PK.

00:26:51Paul Kitching: Thank you. There you go. That was Kimberley. And yes, it is a beautiful, beautiful parkrun up here. As we know, parkrun relies on its local community, but also visitors. And this is a perfect combo of both that. So yeah, if you're ever in the vicinity of Meningi, come and do their parkrun. It was our Nendi and very glad to have done it. This is PK signing off. Cheers.

00:27:16Ali Sheppard: G'day adventurers, Ali from the UK here and I am currently at Yarborough Leisure Centre which is the home of Yarborough Leisure Centre parkrun and I'm here with regional, not regional, event ambassador Brian Thompson. Hello Brian.

00:27:34Brian Thompson: Hi Ali.

00:27:35Ali Sheppard: And we have done the parkrun this morning. It was a vent, I can't remember what number it is.

00:27:42[crosstalk]

00:27:43Brian Thompson: It's got 120 odd I think.

00:27:46Ali Sheppard: Yeah something like that at Yarborough and of course this is quite a popular parkrun because a lot of parkrunners come here because it begins with the letter Y.

00:27:55Brian Thompson: Yes, and that was not lost on me when I first turned up after the first request to start an event up here. I turned up here and met Jen who was looking to start one up and I thought, oh my goodness, this could start with a Y. It's my first event activation as a...

00:28:13[crosstalk]

00:28:15Ali Sheppard: Right.

00:28:16Brian Thompson: fledgling ambassador yeah because this is your parkrun baby yes absolutely yeah and so the thoughts were going through my head were is there enough parking yes how what should we get a thousand people on day one I don't know because at the time when I mean when I started first when I first started parkrunning

00:28:25[crosstalk]

00:28:34Ali Sheppard: There were two events that began with a Y in the UK. I know in Australia there are quite a few. It's not quite as rare. But when I started, there was Yeovil Montacute and York. And then Yeovil Montacute shut down in the pandemic, I think it was.

00:28:49Brian Thompson: It didn't come back after the pandemic.

00:28:50Ali Sheppard: It didn't come back after the pandemic. And so there was only one in the whole of the UK. In Europe, in fact. In Europe, was it?

00:28:55[crosstalk]

00:28:59Brian Thompson: Yes. York was the only one in Europe. So I was aware that if this opened up as a Y, it would be the second one. And so it would be attractive to a lot of people, yes.

00:29:08Ali Sheppard: So, yes, it would be. There would be a lot of alphabet chasers coming here. So when they started, when the idea was formed about setting up a parkrun in Yarborough, which is in Lincoln, I should say for people here, Lincoln is a beautiful...

00:29:24Brian Thompson: Sorry.

00:29:25Ali Sheppard: medieval historic town yeah and this is a leisure center that's just sort of on the north of the town on the north of the town yes uh the the uh cathedral lincoln cathedral yes when it was built um it was the tallest building in the world oh wow yes wow that's a good fact and so you know when whoever came up with the idea of starting this here um

00:29:41[crosstalk]

00:29:49Brian Thompson: So we had a part one HQ on tour day. Yeah. And we were walking around Lincoln parkrun. Yes. Boultham Park with Helen Hood and a few others, Jo Sinton-Hewitt. Yes. And we were talking about numbers at that parkrun and it was suggested that Lincoln could do with another parkrun in it to try and alleviate because they were getting 600 people each week at a time there and they were a three lap course on narrow paths. It wasn't going particularly well. so we put out feelers for a new event in the lincoln area and it just so happened that somebody at your leisure center was also looking to set up a new event here so the idea was to try and alleviate the numbers yes okay we had Doddington Hall came online yes so they are just outside of lincoln yes so this would be the third event in lincoln effectively yeah So I got in touch with Jen who was working at Yarborough Leisure Centre.

00:30:18[crosstalk]

00:30:34[crosstalk]

00:30:52Ali Sheppard: Yeah.

00:30:53Brian Thompson: We met up and then the realisation that, you know, this could be the second Y in Europe. Yeah. Started to dawn. And yeah, we were lucky with the funding at the local council. City council helped with that. Yes. And volunteers were easy. Yeah. quite fortunately we got somebody who wanted to be who already runs a local running club yeah she became ed event director and it's just gone from strength to strength we celebrated the third anniversary last week fantastic that's wonderful and uh and since then you've um this was your first activation but

00:31:36Ali Sheppard: You've become a bit of an alphabet, new parkrun rare letter alphabet starter because you've started another one with an unusual letter.

00:31:46Brian Thompson: I have, yes. Tell us about that. Not through any plan or anything like that. It's just the way the... That letter's fell. But this was a why, obviously. I've started Vicar Water Country Park parkrun in Mansfield. Yes. So that's a V. That's another rare-ish letter. Yes. For the UK. And I was involved in the early days at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School.

00:32:02[crosstalk]

00:32:12Ali Sheppard: Yes.

00:32:13Brian Thompson: Which is in Horncastle in Lincolnshire.

00:32:15[crosstalk]

00:32:15Ali Sheppard: Right.

00:32:15Brian Thompson: Which is a Q. Which is a Q, obviously, yes. So I'm getting a bit of a reputation.

00:32:21[crosstalk]

00:32:22Ali Sheppard: You're an alphabet chaser's dream.

00:32:25Brian Thompson: Well, some of the other East Midlands ambassadors have thanked me for getting their alphabet done for them.

00:32:32Ali Sheppard: Yes, yes, perfect. And aside from that, do you get to do much tourism yourself, much going around?

00:32:40Brian Thompson: Yeah, I've done quite a few in the area, yes. I've done, I think, about 80 different events so far. Yeah, so closing in on the hundred, the cowl.

00:32:51Ali Sheppard: And one thing we ask on this podcast is if you can think of three events that are particularly, you know, might be memorable to you because you had a great time there for whatever reason.

00:33:05Brian Thompson: It's all subjective. Yeah, it is. I mean, obviously, all events are fantastic, aren't they? Newark in Nottinghamshire, that's my home event. I've been there since 2013. That obviously holds a good place in my heart. Communities there. And then, obviously, Yarborough. I've got a great link to the core team here.

00:33:12[crosstalk]

00:33:28[crosstalk]

00:33:32Ali Sheppard: fantastic team and obviously vicar water because these those are the two i've started so they're very memorable to me yes yes i haven't been to vicar water yet i understand you get a few people going in fancy dress and a few vicars a few vicars dressing up with dog collars on and

00:33:48Brian Thompson: Yes, well, Vicar Water is a one-lap course, but they have recently set up an alternative course, which is two laps, which has a big hill in it, so you do that twice. So it's vying for the biggest hill in East Midlands competition now.

00:34:02[crosstalk]

00:34:08Ali Sheppard: Who's it vying with?

00:34:12Brian Thompson: Bestwood Park.

00:34:13Ali Sheppard: Haven't done that one either.

00:34:15Brian Thompson: Yeah, that's quite hilly. Gedling is quite hilly.

00:34:17Ali Sheppard: Right. Yeah, yeah. Okay, well, I've really enjoyed it here today. I didn't come to get my why, but... You did. Yeah, it's been wonderful. Had a great, great time. So thanks a lot, Brian.

00:34:34Brian Thompson: Great to see you, Ali.

00:34:35Ali Sheppard: That's a wrap.

00:34:41Ruth Perkins: Kui parkrun Adventures, this is Ruth Perkins and I have come today to Germany. I got the train this morning over from Brussels to Aachen, I hope I'm saying it correctly, and I'm here with Daniel and Katie who are the event directors here at Lusberg parkrun I think. So Daniel, how long has this parkrun been here and whose passion was it to start it? What's the story?

00:35:14Daniel: So we're now at parkrun 102, so it means a bit more than two years. We started in January 24, right? Is that correct Katie? January 24, so it has been quite a while. And essentially when I moved to Aachen myself, which was at the end of 2022, I really wanted to find some new friends, meet some people. So I looked into how it works to start a parkrun. I got in touch with the parkrun HQ and then I kind of got started with the process. So I started looking for other people and so on. And then, yeah, pretty soon we found a good group of volunteers. Katie was part of that as well, of the first group of volunteers. And then we just got ahead and started parkrun basically. So Katie was there also from the very beginning. and then soon after became the co-event director.

00:35:59Ruth Perkins: And so had you been to many parkruns before you started this one?

00:36:03Daniel: Yeah, so I actually am one of my best friends from high school. He started a parkrun in Cologne, or he was involved in starting it, one of the two. So I knew about it already many years ago. And then I studied in the Netherlands. And right after COVID, when it started again, I think it was 2021, I joined many parkruns in The Hague and Delft and so on. So I was really motivated to have one here as well, because there wasn't one before.

00:36:25Ruth Perkins: Yeah, it does seem like a really brilliant place to have one. I think nearby to here you have the three country points, I think it is, where the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium all join together. So it's quite a historic place, isn't it, around here? So Katie, had you been to many parkruns before starting here?

00:36:47Katie: No, this is the first time I ever even heard of parkrun, so only through Daniel do I know about it. In Germany, it's not as big as it is in some other countries, so it's hard to be exposed to it a little bit. So I'm really happy that I was able to tell you that Daniel really wanted to make it happen and that it was happening in Aachen. Otherwise, I still might not know about it.

00:37:10Ruth Perkins: What do you think people should know specifically about this park and what makes it a good thing for people to come to or what keeps people coming back?

00:37:18Katie: It's really beautiful. It's a great little piece of nature in the middle of the city. I like the hills. I find it's great training. It's fun. It's a little different. You know, it's not completely flat. We're not just running flat on a field or anything like that. We have a really great community. It's very international. Lots of people from different places, but always lots of visitors from other places. So it's a really cool and very friendly. And yeah, I just love the community here.

00:37:48Ruth Perkins: It does seem like a really lovely community. And the actual course, I absolutely loved the The hills, the switchbacks, it's always changing. There's a couple of flattish kind of sections, but most of the time it's a bit like a roller coaster almost. I really enjoyed it today. So of the other parkruns you've been to, is there any that you would particularly say this one is a good one for other people to go to, other than your one?

00:38:15Daniel: Obviously I'd recommend our neighbor's parkrun in Maastricht in the Netherlands, which is only about 30 kilometers away. It's called Tapijnparkrun. It's a three laps and it's an old, I think it's an old military, like, what do you call that, area or something. So it's a very different, it looks very different than here. And we've got many people, we always have people who, if there's like a long weekend with two parkruns, they come there and here. So we're really connected with them.

00:38:40Katie: And how about you? I'd like to give a shout out to Halifax in Yorkshire. It's a sister city of Aachen and we visited them last year and it was such a great experience. It was a fun little parkrun. I mean, little when I say that they have hundreds of people in a park, you know.

00:38:54Daniel: We joined the 10th anniversary, right?

00:38:56Katie: Yeah, it was really great.

00:38:59Ruth Perkins: Yeah, Halifax, that's quite a hilly one as well, isn't it? They've got special signs on some of the hills. I can't remember, is that the one with Thumpiak? I believe that is.

00:39:07[crosstalk]

00:39:08Katie: They have special names. Yes, each of them, yes. It actually has the same amount of elevation as Lousberg overall, so it's just split up above in many other hills.

00:39:16Daniel: Two and a half laps, actually, right?

00:39:17Katie: Yeah.

00:39:18Daniel: Oh, that's wonderful. And they've come here as well, by the way, so also... Because actually there are some other German parkruns who do this with their twin cities, their British twin cities. So it's an idea that we had from a different German parkrun.

00:39:30Ruth Perkins: Wonderful. Well, thank you so much for today. I can see why this is a brilliant place to have a parkrun. And I'm sure it will go from strength to strength and many people will visit from far and wide. It's definitely worth it. It's beautiful. So thank you so much. Thank you.

00:39:46Katie: Thank you.

00:39:47Ruth Perkins: Thanks for joining us today. Thanks a lot.

00:39:55[background music]

00:40:02Sarah Jefferson: We are back from our roving reports where we heard from PK, who was checking in from Meningi parkrun, who spoke to Kim Lee, one of the event directors. We also heard from Ali at Yarborough Leisure Centre parkrun, who had quite the chat to the event ambassador, Brian Thompson there. Interesting to Brian's magical touch that he's had with establishing parkruns with the rare letters. And I'm not so sure that all of them are coincidence though, Brian. And last but not least, we heard from Ruth at Lausberg parkrun, Aachen in Germany, who interviewed the co-EDs Daniel and Catherine Linden. I really loved hearing about Dan's motivation for setting up a parkrun, wanting to create a friendship group. And it sounds like he's created and made lots of friends in the process and also given back to his community, which I'm sure... He's very fulfilling as well. So thanks again to our reporters on the ground for sending through these reports.

00:41:06Simon Mackley: Yeah, another varied lot of roving reports from across the globe. Moving on to Dazza's. We've chosen five comments from each of the last two weeks of Dazza's posts.

Dazza's

00:41:17Sarah Jefferson: So on the 14th of February, Dazza said, Roses are red, violets are blue. Dazza is making a yummy treat and it's definitely for you. Happy Valentine's Day. was love in the air at parkrun for you come on in and tell us all about it so it's with lots of love heart emojis on that day so somebody was so nice to hear from everyone feeling so loved up at parkrun whether it was with their partner friend pet or with their partner or even their coffee in the morning it was certainly a really good feel good experience reading through all of the comments this week and my heart was full after reading through all of them, but it was really tricky to only pick five comments, I must admit.

00:41:58Simon Mackley: All right, let's start off with David Messenger, who was at Frog Hollow. He shared, two lovers flew from WA to Victoria for an F at Frog Hollow parkrun to get the only letter Christine Brown can't get in WA for her alphabet. And there was a photo of David, Kermit the Frog, and his lover, Christine Brown. wearing frog shirts at the Frog Hollow parkrun selfie frame. I know how far in advance David plans his parkrun adventures, so this has been a long time coming. Congratulations on your alphabet, Christine.

00:42:29Sarah Jefferson: We heard from Lee Cabarita at Huskerson parkrun in New South Wales. Lee, the poet, wrote, Looking good, Dazza, you big spunk. parkrunners wore red, adventurers in blue. Insert something else here and happy Valentine's Day to you. Husky parkrun for me today. There was a photo of Lee looking dashing in her adventurous tee in the Huskisson parkrun frame with the creek behind her. We hope that you had a lovely morning, Lee.

00:42:58Simon Mackley: And next we heard from Helen Patricia at Dalby Forest in the UK. Helen said, Oh, my lovely husband today surprised me with an unexpected meetup with youngest son. They both know this meant so much to me. Con also ran with me until nearly the end. Dolby Forest, our home run, but not the nearest. It was a last minute decision due to the weather. Very nail bite. And there was a lovely photo of Helen and Con with lots and lots of snow in the background. Great to see the adventurer's buff keeping your head and ears warm, Helen. Sounds like a lovely morning with your heart very full, that's for sure. The weather in the UK this weekend definitely sounded a bit wild and cold.

00:43:36Sarah Jefferson: Certainly did, a bit opposite. Two hours in Australia, for sure. Coming to us from Zilmere parkrun in Queensland, we heard from Ingrid Paris. Ingrid stated, I left my other half catching zeds while I caught my zed. There was a photo of Ingrid in the Zilmere selfie frame. It sounds like Ingrid was lucky to get this event in as I saw that they actually made the call early in the morning to announce that the event would still go ahead. So lucky for you, Ingrid. And great to see that Ingrid is getting close to completing her parkrun alphabet with an H, L, Q and V to go. Will this be our 2026 goal, Ingrid? You will have to let us know.

00:44:18Simon Mackley: Okay. And next we heard from Maria Wicks from Greenwich Peninsula in the UK. Maria wrote, Hey Dazza, I'm no good at rhyming, but I took my wonky bear, Poddington, to Greenwich Peninsula parkrun. Another London event visited and I even saw the sun. although it was freezing, so my face was red and my fingers were blue. And there was a photo of Maria with her bright yellow pottington. Maria was also wearing a puffer jacket, but not a beanie or gloves. Pleased to hear that the sun did come out, even though it didn't really look like it took the chill off the air. Congrats on ticking off another event, Maria.

00:44:56Sarah Jefferson: All right, so headed over to Dazza's on the 21st of February. Dazza said... Dazza's favourite animal is a pangolin, a shy, scaly, nocturnal mammal. And today is World Pangolin Day. So Dazza is in a happy mood. Don't be shy like a pangolin. Come on in, place your orders and tell us all about your parkrun morning.

00:45:17Simon Mackley: So we had Jagdeep Singh. He came to us from Alara Riparian Parklands parkrun and he shared, today was double duty, volley, course check and run day. Basically woke up and chose both responsibility and running. Humidity, 90%. My willingness to run, 10%. Survival chances at 8.01am. Let's discuss that later. The weather at Elaria Riparian Parklands parkrun felt like I was jogging inside a sauna. Someone forgot to switch off. Another sweaty achievement unlocked. If the weather won't quit, neither will we. And there was a photo of Jagdeep in the parkrun selfie frame. still donning a smile despite the horrendous humidity.

00:45:58Sarah Jefferson: Oof, that humidity does sound horrendous for sure. We heard from Thomas Martin at Tallangatta Station parkrun in Victoria. Thomas said, ticked off Tallangatta this morning before City to City, 15k tomorrow. There was a photo of Thomas in the parkrun frame in his run down under Singlet. So we had a look at the City to City results and this is the 15km run that starts in Albury. and finishes in Wodonga on the New South Wales Victorian border. So a huge congrats to Thomas as he was actually their third male to finish in a time of 53.12. Amazing effort, Thomas. Not only he did this, but he was also the first finisher at Tallangatta Station parkrun in a time of 16.22. But Thomas, I can see that you are actually not an adventurer. So if you need help, reach out and we will help you set that up on your profile.

00:46:51Simon Mackley: Sarah, you were using your teacher voice then. Sorry.

00:46:55Sarah Jefferson: I was back in the classroom today. I need to code switch. Sorry about that, Thomas. But please reach out. We're happy to help.

00:47:01Simon Mackley: Exactly. Next, we heard from Veronica Lightfoot, who was at Sandgate parkrun here in Queensland. She stated, a short drive this morning to Sandgate parkrun, 533 participants this morning. And Veronica shared an absolutely stunning photo of her outlook on the course, including a cloudy sky with a low tide, What a gorgeous photo. Thanks for capturing this beauty for us, Veronica.

00:47:25Sarah Jefferson: That was a stunning photo. Agreed. We heard from David Ryan at Coal Creek Trail parkrun in the US of A. David wrote, our 90th event today, and it jumped straight to the top of our list as the most beautiful parkrun we've done. Up at 4am to drive from Las Vegas to Coal Creek Trail parkrun, Utah, and it was well worth the effort. Now, this photo was incredible. David shared a photo of himself and three others with the parkrun pop-up and the flag, standing in ankle-deep snow. The sun was shining, though. Sounds like a truly amazing experience, and thank you for sharing, David.

00:48:04Simon Mackley: Yeah, nice to hear from you, David. I know I caught up with you a few weeks ago at Gainsborough Parklands, and you were telling me about this trip. So next we heard from Sunil Chamont from Sint Valley Forest Park parkrun in the UK, where he said, did not adventure very far today, I went to Sense Valley Forest Park parkrun, Leicestershire, UK, because I wanted to support my younger brother as he stepped up into the RD role for the first time. He did brilliantly. Hopefully he'll try it again. Congratulations to him. And there was a photo of Samir with his brother after popping his RD cherry. What a lovely brother you are.

00:48:40Sarah Jefferson: Oh, that was so lovely to hear. Thanks, Danielle. All right. So we better give out the obi, right, Simon?

the Obi Award — David Ryan

00:48:46Simon Mackley: Yes. We get it electronically now?

00:48:48Sarah Jefferson: Yes. It is electronic, of course. No envelope to rip. Very sustainable that we are.

00:48:54Simon Mackley: Very.

00:48:55Sarah Jefferson: This fortnight, the obi goes to... David Ryan, congrats on ticking off a parkrun in the US of A and switching over swiftly from an Australian summer to running in the snow. Well done and thank you for sharing those photos with us.

Emails

00:49:14Simon Mackley: Moving on to emails.

00:49:16Reginald Yardley Pomphrey III: You've got mail.

00:49:17Simon Mackley: We have a very long one here. So it starts off, can we adventurers? I'm sending this email to thank you for my mention in episode 442 and to give you an update. Simon was correct. I am a UK based listener. who emailed you several months ago to ask for advice about a road trip I'm planning in Australia. At the time, I was catching up on the pod's back catalogue with Scotty and Mel Erbacher hosting. I'm now up to date, and as Sarah confirmed in the latest episode, I haven't made the trip yet. But there are plans if you are interested. I'll be flying into Sydney in late September. My stepsister and stepbrother both live in the Sutherland Shire, so I'll be staying with them for a few days. I think Cronulla and Menai are the two closest events, so I expect that I should go to one of those, or perhaps Dolls Point, allegedly the most beautiful parkrun in Sydney. I begrudgingly say that. If I was to choose, it would be Cronulla or Dolls Point. There we go. Then the following week, I would fly to Cairns, where I pick up a car, and then I just have over two months to drive back down to Sydney, which means I get to visit 10 different parkruns. Some time ago, I posted in the Aussie parkrun Tourism Facebook asking for people to recommend some must-see events between Cairns and Sydney. The response was massive and I received 70 suggestions. The problem was they all sounded brilliant. I added them into a spreadsheet and tried to grade them by the number of votes, which was a tricky task. This made me realise a couple of things. First, I need to accept that I am not going to see all 70 plus events. as they were only from Queensland and New South Wales north of Sydney, I can't imagine how many recommendations I would have got for other states and territories. Second, I've decided that I'm going to come back for many more visits. For this trip, I want to try and get a nice variety of Aussie events. I've tried to space them equally apart distance-wise, but this wasn't an exact science. Anyway, this is what I've penciled in so far, but it's all subject to change. So he starts with Glanoma, Cardwell, Mackay, Emerald, Workman's Beach, Vickrey Heights, Nambour, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and The Beaches. Of these, there are only two that are set in concrete, The Beaches and Nambour. However, I'll be visiting Nambour in late November and I've heard that it'll be unlikely I see Fluffy at this time of year. If this is the case, I may postpone Nambour for another trip. Happy to take advice on that. Also, I'd be interested in what you and your listeners think of my selection so far and whether I have glaring omissions. Many thanks on producing the pod. It's given me hours of entertainment and inspiration. Kind regards, Xavier Sanchez.

00:52:00Sarah Jefferson: Wow. What an epic journey you have planned, Xavier. I have done Cronulla. Cronulla, from memory, a really steep sand dune, right?

00:52:09Simon Mackley: Correct. Yes.

00:52:10Sarah Jefferson: However, I would select that over Menai as well. Menai is run next to a very busy road.

00:52:16Simon Mackley: Correct.

00:52:17Sarah Jefferson: In saying that, I probably would go to... Dolls Point or Barama parkrun or even across to Mosman parkrun. That would be my preference. However, the 10 that you have proposed there, I actually haven't done any of those myself, so I can't really comment on those. What about you, Simon? How many have you done from the list there?

00:52:39Simon Mackley: I was just re-looking at the list. I've only done Nambour and The Beaches, which are the two that he's got in concrete. Where he has said that he's tried to space them distance-wise there, I've I've noticed that he's going from the Sunshine Coast to Coffs Harbour, so totally missing Brisbane and the Gold Coast. I have no problem with Coffs Harbour or Port Macquarie, but I would probably add in one of the Gold Coast ones, something like Kirra or Kingscliff or even Main Beach because it was the first Australian one.

00:53:14Sarah Jefferson: Even Kingscliff, I like the sound of that, the eastern compass point.

00:53:17Simon Mackley: Yeah, that's true. Yeah, so there's a bit of a gap, obviously, between Namba and Coffs Harbour. In saying that, that's not a huge distance anyway. And I love that he's going out to Emerald. So he's not just sticking by the water. He is actually going inland as well. So I love that that was on the list. 100% you have to do the beaches. It doesn't matter whether it's high tide or low tide or whatever, that is going to be probably the hardest park you parkrun you've ever done in your life but it is so unless he comes to monday sorry simon that is true so it's it's a different kind of hard i'm not talking elevation i'm talking how hard to run in soft sand is okay you've recovered yeah it's like nothing to do with elevation i'm just saying it's the hardest one i've ever done and Yeah, I've done Nambour and Nambour was hard, but it is a very different kind of hard.

00:53:46[crosstalk]

00:54:08Sarah Jefferson: And I guess the beaches is just a totally different experience, right? Yeah, exactly. Being completely on the beach.

00:54:14Simon Mackley: Yeah, my suggestion, 100% the beaches. Yeah, lock that in. Nambour is, I mean, I don't know how fast Xavier runs, but yeah, you're not going to run fast there. There's plenty of beautiful ones he's got on his list. That's my answer. And as I say, I've only done two of those, but I know a lot of those areas as well.

00:54:33Sarah Jefferson: And as Xavier said, like he's open to suggestions. So if anyone, you know, any listeners out there, you know, write in, let Xavier know what you think of his plan and if you would do things differently.

00:54:40[background music]

00:54:44Simon Mackley: Alrighty, let's throw over to Reginald.

Club Corner

00:54:55Reginald Yardley Pomphrey III: This is Reginald Yardley Pomphrey III, with Club Corner, where we quiz the hosts and listeners with Who Am I?, and I am coming to you from Aranda country. Continuing with this unasked and perhaps unwanted format, Who Am I? is an easy game to play. I will ask questions and you will shout the answer when you think you know it. I will continue asking questions and you will, or will not, realize how wrong you were, and then at the end, all will be revealed. Let us get going. Who am I? Question 1. My state has not been featured on Who Am I? Question 2. I have hosted more than 650 events since I began. Question 3. I am an out-and-back course. Question 4. I notably have a prominent alternate course. Question 5. I am a pioneer event in my state. Question 6. I am beside a river. And finally, question 7. Do you like the zoo? Who am I? I am Torrens parkrun in South Australia. That is your lot for the week, and we will return to our country series with events north of the equator. And remember, in parkrun life, all non-Milestone clubs are unofficial and unsupported by parkrun, so stay tuned for our future club corners.

00:55:55[background music]

00:56:13Sarah Jefferson: Reginald does it again. Back to the who am I's. I do really love a good guessing game, but I feel like Reginald could have given a few more hints that were a little bit more specific, like Reginald and out and back course, really. However, when Reginald mentioned a pioneer event, that really got me thinking. And by the time Reginald had mentioned zoo, I had it. So how did you go, Simon?

00:56:38Simon Mackley: Knowing the zoo, that was the only thing that gave it away for me. So yeah, well done, Reginald. Well played. Alrighty, let's move on over to the Consolidated Club Report. So the Adventurers Consolidated Club Report for Saturday, the 21st of February, 2026. Of a total of 881 members, 640 took part on this date in 13 countries across 331 locations. Locally, there were adventurers at 53 events in Queensland and New South Wales. 51 in Victoria, 21 in WA, 18 in South Australia, 11 on the North Island, 10 in Tassie, 9 in the ACT, 7 on the South Island, and 1 in the Northern Territory. And I think we know where that was. We might know people that were at the only event in Northern Territory. Internationally, there were adventurers at 75 events in the UK, 10 in South Africa. four in the US of A and one each in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore and Sweden. I did find it a bit surprising that we didn't have anyone in Japan, because we seem to always say Japan, nor in Italy with the Winter Olympics going on. Surprised we didn't have adventurers over there.

Consolidated Club Report

00:58:00Sarah Jefferson: True. The largest international front on the 14th of February was of course at Valentine's. There were a front of six in the UK. Jason, Glenn, Dave, Tina, Cameron and Sammy. On the 21st of February, the largest front was of six people at York Community Woodland in the UK. We had Shane, Helen, Patricia, Andy, Jane, Stephen and VKP.

00:58:27Simon Mackley: And pilgrimages to Bushy. On Valentine's Day, we had no one. On the 21st, We also had no one. Come on adventurers, it's time to go to Bushy. Maybe it's the weather, I don't know.

00:58:41Sarah Jefferson: Yeah, maybe the weather hasn't been great, has it? Okay, the largest Aussie front on Valentine's Day, we had a front of eight. One event, Wadentown in the ACT. That was Lucille and Darren, Anthony and Faye, Diana, Peter and Jack and Claire. However, there was a front of seven at four events. Those events included Inverloch, Redwell Reserve, Toowoomba and Victory Road Reserve. On the 21st of Feb there was a front of 11 at Cruickshank Park. That was Nathan, Darren, Brian, TOC, Jackie, Dan, John, Irene, Dawn, Parth and Joanne.

00:59:17Simon Mackley: Alrighty and remember you can you can add the Adventurous Club as one of your five affiliations on your parkrun profile.

00:59:24Sarah Jefferson: Ah very friendly aren't we Simon when we are letting people know if they need help promise i didn't mean to put my teacher voice on but we're very willing and happy to help if anyone does need assistance with adding this to your profile okay launches on valentine's day there was one solo launch that was gibraltar botanical gardens parkrun and that was located in gibraltar on the southern edge of spain in the british territory There were 32 participants with 16 volunteers, eight of those participants being first-timers.

Launches and anniversaries ("Where is the cake?")

01:00:01Simon Mackley: And then on the 21st of Feb, there were two launches and both of them were in Australia. So kicking off, we had Park Lakes Wetlands parkrun, which is located on the northern end of the Sunny Ghost in Queensland. This takes Queensland events to 138. So there were 111 athletes, nine volunteers and 12 first-timers.

01:00:24Sarah Jefferson: We had the other launch, Rockabee Crossover Rail Trail parkrun, and that was in Victoria. Once again, they're on fire down there, aren't they, Simon? There were 260 participants with 13 first-timers, supported by 18 volunteers. So that is the third weekend out of four with a launch in Victoria.

01:00:48Unidentified speaker: Amazing.

01:00:49Simon Mackley: Well done, Victoria. You're trying to catch up to Queensland. I think they're in the 120s or so, so they're still a bit behind. If we keep on doing a few launches, we might keep ahead of them. Anyway, we still have 10 buffs left to sell. So when you're coming to Palm, if you haven't got one, or you want a spare one, or you just like wearing two buffs... be sure to secure one from TOC as soon as you get to Palm. They are $12 each and you can save yourself postage.

Palm updates

01:01:17Sarah Jefferson: Okay, so rolling into some more Palm updates, some important updates. So the first activity of the weekend will be a group walk at 5pm on the Friday evening. So we ask that everyone meets around 4.50pm for a 5pm walk. We're asking everyone to meet at the Sevenhill Hotel. If you have an apricot shirt or a milestone shirt, any colour, we invite you to wear that on the evening. So after the walk, we'll roll straight on to dinner at the meeting location at 6pm. So if you can't make the walk, we hope to see you at the hotel at 6pm.

01:01:56Simon Mackley: And on the morning of Palm, please ensure that you're there nice and early because we're going to get a group photo taken at 7.40. So it is an 8 o'clock start. So 7.40 promptly, wear your adventurer's blue shirt.

01:02:10Sarah Jefferson: And the afternoon. So we are doing an afternoon recording and that will be at the same place that we are having breakfast at. So the Clear Rise Bakery. There's not a dress theme for the recording. Rather wear something comfortable and get ready to sit back, nibble on some food and yeah, relax.

01:02:27Simon Mackley: And I have a feeling that we're saying we're going to start the recording at one o'clock. I think I've seen that somewhere.

01:02:31Sarah Jefferson: Okay. I think it is about one o'clock and you're right. That is obviously... Yeah, the recording, so you're wearing something comfortable and sitting back and watching the recording, aren't you?

01:02:41Simon Mackley: Seeing us not being comfortable in front of everyone.

01:02:43Sarah Jefferson: That's right, because occasionally we make mistakes and we get to do a second or third take, don't we, Simon, on the mic?

01:02:49Simon Mackley: We certainly do.

01:02:51Sarah Jefferson: You get to see our blunders live.

01:02:54Simon Mackley: And that would never have happened tonight, would it have, Sarah?

01:02:59Sarah Jefferson: No, Simon, let's not give away all of our tricks.

01:03:02Simon Mackley: the magic that dave needs to work behind the scenes with his podcast exactly so another reminder if you're not in the messenger group and you are coming to palm please reach out to one of us so that we can add you to the list it's where we'll post where we are and if anything changes and that sort of thing but we do need to know numbers for the friday night the saturday night and for the recording you don't need to rsvp for the actual park room because it can take as many as we need i guess right we're confirming numbers

01:03:32Sarah Jefferson: this week and all of the updates will be posted there the reminders of time where to be what to wear etc so make sure you are in that messenger group okay in terms of packing this simon so i've got my adventurous shirt i've got a milestone shirt and i've got my rainbow theme costume have i forgotten anything apart from my other standard things particular for palm weekend i missed anything i don't think so i think that's all adventurers need to pack

01:04:02Simon Mackley: other than what they're normally packing to go away. Make sure you wear your running shoes. Make sure you pack those. That's going to be important.

Where will you be on the next parkrun day?

01:04:09Sarah Jefferson: Simon, where will you be on the next parkrun day?

01:04:12Simon Mackley: Well, I might finally be able to watch the numbers at Batinia Island parkrun in person. So let's see. I'm trying to get there. And then the week after, everyone knows where I'm going to be. Where will you be this week, Sarah?

01:04:26Sarah Jefferson: That's exciting, Simon. You might get two new events in two weeks.

01:04:29Simon Mackley: Yes.

01:04:30Sarah Jefferson: Might. Fingers crossed for you. Might. This weekend, I am going to head to Shelley parkrun for event 465. So that P index for me is rising quite rapidly, close to notching up again. And then again, I'll be seeing you in the flesh at Palm 26. Pretty excited about that.

01:04:49Simon Mackley: Indeed. So the next episode you hear will be the live recording at Palm 26 in the Clare Valley. So just a reminder that this won't be released live on the day. Everyone who attends in person will get that opportunity. And we hope that in the week after Palm that you can relive or enjoy the Palm edition of the podcast. It's not that long now.

01:05:11Sarah Jefferson: It's not. So as always, you can contact us via parkrun Adventurers on Facebook or our email, which is parkrunadventurers at gmail.com.

01:05:23Simon Mackley: Adventurers, we forgot to tell you about something very important that's happening this Saturday coming. As many of you who have listened to the pod for quite a while know, friend of the pod, Steven Jackson, who was the co-event director of Bathurst parkrun and Mount Panorama Punish, well, he passed away two years ago in a car accident and gave the gift of life to three people through organ donation. So this weekend, Bathurst parkrun are wanting to continue to celebrate Stephen's love of parkrun and running in general by wearing your favourite race event shirts on the last Saturday in February, which is this Saturday coming. Wherever you're running on Saturday, at a parkrun or just your local loop, they would love for you to honour him, and so would we, and share photos of yourself with them so they can put a collage together in memory of Stephen.

01:06:17Sarah Jefferson: That's it for another episode. We'll see you at Palm in two weeks.

01:06:20[outro theme playing]

01:06:22Simon Mackley: Bye. Bye.